Canada’s Maritime Provinces get a population boost!

It has come to light through a new report prepared by the Atlantic Provinces Economic Council that the Canadian Maritime Provinces have seen a population boost in recent times. Provincial nominee programs held in PEI, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick have contributed to this rise in population. Immigration, as a whole, is playing a key role in encouraging the fastest population growth that these places have seen in decades.

Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and New Brunswick are collectively called Canada’s Maritime provinces. A large number of Canadian immigration initiatives have been centered around these provinces. They have seen intensive efforts not only to attract but also retain skilled foreign workers. The provinces are also working on allowing the workers to bring their families with them.

The decline in population and labor force growth is balanced by the force of Immigration. Migration to other provinces, older demographics, and low fertility rates are a few of the reasons why these provinces need to export more skilled labor. The current focus on immigration, in combination with the dip in the number of residents who have left the region for other work opportunities, has sparked population growth rates in the Maritime Provinces. The Atlantic Provinces Economic Council (APEC) reports that there has not been a boost like this since the 1990s.

Prince Edward Island particularly has witnessed an “incredible” population growth rate as reported by the APEC. There has been a rise of two percent year-over-year since the year 2016, which is massive in comparison to the previous years’ records. The APEC has made it clear that it considers net international immigration to be the “the biggest contributor” to these results. Nova Scotia, on the other hand, has an average growth rate of 0.8 percent in the same period while New Brunswick reported an annual growth rate of 0.5 percent.